SHIP' LOG:
Would that it were true! ABISHAG floats at her dock and gets rained on, snowed on and worked on but all this is happening in Mystic, Connecticut . . . . not according to my plan but evidently according to God's plan and let's face it, we know whose plan is going to take precedence! So I guess until our plans merge, I'll remain in Mystic.
I did not get the firsplace in and as a result I am still not living on the boat. The hold up is the stainless steel reflector plate that is being fabricated. The fireplace needs a plate between it and the bulkhead ( and anything else flameable) so that keeping warn does not entail burning down the boat! It would sort of defeat the purpose of the whole sabbatical! Once the piece is fabricated, it should be a rather quick install. Why do I think it will happen just about the time the weather breaks and stablizes and I will no longer need the fireplace?
It appears the the SSB (Single Sideband Radio) works though figuring out exactly how to operate it correctly ( and legally) is another matter. While I can listen to any station I can pick up, I have to avoid transmitting on those frequencies that are reserved for HAM Operators. The first thing I learned was how to send an emergency signal which will trip screaming alarms on all receiving SSBs. I did it, not because I expect to have to send such a signal but rather, since it is an automatic function on the radio, how not to do and get a S&R (Search and Rescue) operation going unintentionallt. I would not want to do this as it is my understanding that the Coast Guard looks dimly on "false alarms" and levie some rather stiff fines accordingly. But it is nice to have this particular piece of hardware functioning as I can sit in Mystic and pick-up Cruisers far, far away. It keeps the dream alive.
MASTER'S PERSONAL LOG:
One of the things that is frustrating at this time of year is that there are few things I can accomplish on ABISHAG. Not that there are many tings that need doing, but there are a host of little odds and end that could be done. Perhaps the most important is just learning to live comfortably my boat. So far I haven't fallen over board, but just getting comfortable moving around the inside (and outside too) is most important to that sense of comfort, that sense of being at home. I am learning Celestial Navigation. It will be a back up for the electronics and I don't expect to have to depend on it a great deal, still everyone, in every book says that you can not depend solely on one mode of navigating ( especially the electronic) as it just may come a cropper when you most need it and if you don't have another means of navigating, things could get a bit dicey. The same people also reiterate the same idea, that it is not a question of "IF" something will break, rather it is a question of "WHEN." SO redundancy, back ups, and secondary systems are all the rage for a prudent sailor. Learning Celestial Navigation is not only boring, it is also a difficult and rather arcane. One had to learn a whole new lexicon of jargon and technical terms nazd even the best videos have presenters who come across like someone reading the Mahattan phone directory as an epic poem. Now if Emeril LaGasse new celestial navigation, that would be a CD to get. Unfortunately, William F. Buckley, yes that William F. Buckley, not Emerilis the one with the Celestial Navigation DVD. And on it goes.
SORRY ABOUT THE MISPELLINGS AND BAD GRAMMAR
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